One embodiment of the present invention generally relates to inkjet printing mechanisms, and in particular, to a capping system and method for use in inkjet capping stations.
Cleaning and protecting an inkjet printhead assembly is an important aspect relating to proper maintenance of an inkjet printing mechanism, such as a printer or a plotter. Typically, inkjet printing mechanisms include a service station mechanism that is mounted within the printer chassis for cleaning and protecting the inkjet printhead assembly. In operation, the printhead assembly is moved over the station to allow certain predefined maintenance operations to be performed.
A capping station is usually included in a service station and used during storage or non-printing periods. Namely, the capping system is designed to substantially seal the printhead assembly nozzles from contaminants and to prevent ink drying in the printhead assembly. Many capping stations use an elastomeric cap that is pressed against the printhead assembly to create a hermetic seal.
However, current cap designs require too much area in the plane of the printhead assembly orifice plate. Consequently, certain components of the printhead assembly, such as the substrate that contains the ink ejection elements, need to be larger than if the area for the capping seal was smaller or not required. Thus, the unnecessary sealing area used by current capping stations can increase printhead assembly manufacturing costs as the cost for substrate material, such as silicon, increases with size.
In addition, current capping stations typically push the caps tightly against the orifice plate of the printhead assembly until a seal around the printhead assembly nozzles is achieved. This tight seal is used to discourage the evaporation of ink. However, a tight seal usually requires a relatively large amount of force, which could unseat the printhead assembly from its respective datum plane, thereby changing the alignment of the printhead assembly. Hence, in addition to the above problems with current capping stations, they are also not sensitive to variations in cap force.
The present invention includes as one embodiment a capping station for a fluid ejection device having a snout feature, the capping station comprising a cap with a rigid body and a gland seal disposed around an inner perimeter of a cavity defined by the rigid body for resiliently receiving side portions of the snout feature of the fluid ejection device to create a seal with the fluid ejection device.